


THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGING

by Ghost0



Series: The Boys Go To War [4]
Category: DCU (Comics), The Boys (TV 2019)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:54:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502472
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: The Boys split up to complete various tasks. See the first interview with the newest member of The Seven, The Flash!
Series: The Boys Go To War [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920046
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	THE TIMES, THEY ARE A-CHANGING

It was starting to become another hot day in a small North Carolina town. That’s something that people can always count on, even when everything else in town or in other parts of the country start to go to shit. In one old house, a black woman starting to feel the pains and weight of her age was getting herself a glass of water from the kitchen. Moving over into the family room, she slowly lowered herself down into her couch, grabbing the remote from the coffee table. Turning it on, she watched through a few commercials she has seen dozens of times. Finally, the news came on. The CNN logo came on screen, followed by a woman’s face.

“It has now been a week since the confrontation between Homelander and former member of The Seven, A Train, came to a surprising and violent end in the streets of New York. After killing several people, including police officials, Homelander tracked down A Train and ended up delivering a lethal blow.” An image appeared next to the anchor on the screen, shot on someone’s cell phone from a distance. It showed Homelander holding the fallen hero, with the holes in his torso being slightly blurred. “About an hour after this even unfolded in front of the public, Homelander appeared in front of Vought to deliver a speech regarding this devastating loss.”

The screen changed, showing footage of Homelander lightly grabbing onto the edges of a podium, cameras flashing as he looked at the unseen crowd in front of him. “For about the last year or so, I and the rest of The Seven have noticed A Train acting erratically. We tried to reach out to him and offer any help, but he kept to himself. What we didn’t know was that Vought was enabling him with his drug addiction, as well as covering up the death of his secret girlfriend Popclaw.” Homelander turned as a reporter from the crowd asked a question.

“Are you saying that Vought was providing Compound V to A Train in order for him to maintain his status as a member of the team? Does that mean at least one of The Seven knew about Compound V and how Vought had been using it to create superheroes?”

“I can’t say for sure if A Train actually knew he was using Compound V. As for whether or not he knew, we were all together when we learned the truth regarding Compound V and he seemed to be genuinely shocked. As someone who can listen to a person’s heartbeat and be able to tell if that person was lying, I can say that his shock was genuine.” More reporters started to ask questions, but Homelander put up one hand to quiet them all down before going on.

Turning it into a fist, he put it in front of his mouth, closing his eyes and letting his head fall downward for a moment. When he opened his eyes, his hand came back down to the podium. “A Train was suffering a breakdown that sent him into a downward spiral. As he went down, he took the lives of innocent people, members of our proud police, and criminals that should have been brought to justice the RIGHT way. I regret not doing more to reach out to him when I should have. But I don’t regret doing what I did today to make sure that the people were safe from his actions. Thank you.” As he started to turn away, and more reporters started to speak up, the footage paused and the anchor’s face was back on screen.

“There was a closed memorial for A Train, known by his family as Reggie Franklin, provided by Vought. But while people are reeling from the loss of a once beloved hero, The Seven and fought are moving forward very quickly. The day following Homelander’s speech, The Seven welcomed a new hero onto the team.” The screen showed silent footage of Homelander standing on a built stage in Central Park, shaking hands with a man dressed in a mainly yellow outfit, save for the black circle and red lightning bolt on his chest. While the footage played, the anchor woman continued. “The Flash, another hero with super speed, has been quickly deployed to several locations in the Middle East combating super terrorists. He will be making his first public appearance later tonight talking with Maria Menounos.”

The footage disappeared, the cameras zooming out a bit to show a man sharing the desk with the anchor woman. It was some poll taker or something like that, talking about the divide that Homelander’s action has had. People who are clearly opposed to what he did, but she was surprised to hear that most people support what the caped hero did, all though just barely. She didn’t quite pick up on what they were saying as it got interrupted by a knock on her door. Muting it, she slowly got up and made her way to open the door just wide enough to see who it is.  
She saw two men standing on her porch, one shared her general skin color while the closer of the two was white underneath his blue coat and hat. “Good morning miss. Sorry for disturbing you.” He held his hands together in front of him. “We were wondering if you could tell us anything regarding a woman who may have stayed here a while back. A woman who went by the name Liberty.”

The woman felt her body stiffen as she heard the name. “I’m sorry, no one was here under that name.” She calmly closed the door. Turning around, she found herself slowly trying to walk away, but her mind got hit by that memory. She saw her older brother outside in the rain, being punched by that lady hero. He tried to tell her there was some mistake, but she didn’t seem to care. Another knock brought her back to the present. Turning back around, she was no standing closer to the black man this time.

“Please just leave! I took your money, haven’t said anything in all these years- “

“Ma’am, please just stop and let me explain!” He said. “We’re not from Vought. We just want to ask you a few questions. I promise, after we ask, we will leave and never bother you again.” She was silent, just stared and looked at them. She argued in her head whether or not to actually talk to these strangers. Then the black man talked again, more calmly and with a softer tone.

“My dad once tried to sue Vought. I don’t want to get into the details, but he truly believed that it was up to regular people to make sure companies and the people who work for them stay in check. That they were held accountable for any damage they were responsible for.” She met his eyes and listened to him. “Now Vought had a team of lawyers, and it was only my father going after them. All night, I would hear him typing away at his desk. You know this old typewriters, the big ones where to have to put the paper in as you type?” She nodded, the man softly smiling as he thought about his dad all those years ago. “I could hear him typing away at it whenever I went to bed. And whenever I woke up, I heard him still typing, working straight through the night.” His smile disappeared. “But then I woke up and I didn’t hear him typing. He passed away as he worked.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your father- “

“I didn’t tell you that for your sympathy.” The man responded. “I told it to explain to why I am doing. Why we are here. We are the ones who are fighting to bring justice for those that Vought has hurt. There are more of us, but we need help from people like you.” He went silent, the woman staring back and thinking over her past and what was just spoken to her in the present. After some inner debate, she opened the door and welcomed the two strangers in her house, ready to tell them what she witnessed all those years ago.

******

“Here you go.” Frenchie slid over a handgun over to Hughie. He carefully picked it up, making sure it was loaded and that he had some extra. Frenchie went through some boxes of gear and equipment, spreading out a little to take advantage of the room he had with Batman’s car currently out. Hughie looked up and saw Annie come out of the computer room, wearing her hoodie and sunglasses.

“I don’t really think you need those.” Hughie said. 

“I need to take precautions. I’m sure Vought is looking for me. Honestly, I’m not sure if I prefer them or Homelander himself catching me.” Annie pushed the graphic image of A Train’s death out of her mind. But she still nervously shifted on her feet. “I don’t know, maybe I should stay behind too. Might not be safe if I get spotted.”

Frenchie looked up. “Don’t think like that now. We all are scared of getting discovered, especially now.” Frenchie sent a comforting nod towards her. “Why do you think we sending you out with him? You’re his backup.”

“Hey now!” Hughie looked up at Frenchie. Annie had to smile a little bit at that. “That’s not…ah fuck it. Probably right.” Hughie tucked his gun into the back of his pants and looked over at Annie. He wanted to say that they could wait a little longer before going out. But decided against it, figuring that he would be chewed out for suggesting that kind of alteration to the plan. 

Frenchie pulled out the maps that Batman had printed out. Spreading them out on the table, he pointed to the spots that had been briefly gone over before. “He said that the gang activity spikes are in these spots. There have also been monitoring the docks and the shipping schedules. I don’t know which gangs, but I’m sure he does.”

“Wait, both of these spots are equal distance from here.” Hughie pointed to a building. “I think it’s one of those places where they store chemicals and lethal gases, shit like that.”

“Why would any gang be interested in gathering that?” Annie asked out loud.

“I don’t know.” Frenchie shrugged, trying to think. “But he thinks that whatever it is, the fact that they are doing it following the Homelander incident must mean there is some connection to Vought. Go out and try to see if you can get any of them to talk.” They all nodded to each other, Hughie and Annie leaving. As they walked, Annie tried to clear her head, Hughie remembered to stay calm, and Frenchie continued about making sure they have all the supplies they need.

******

The Vought security guards walked side by side with the guest. One of them stepped forward and pressed the security code into the pad. The background light of the keypad turned from blue to green, the guest stepping first into the room. “Hey there Mr. Edgar! Man, three visits here in less than a month…don’t I get a little punch card that says the next visit I get a free ice cream bar?” The guest is a middle aged man, but he is dressed how a college kid would dress if he was going through a Rastafarian phase. The stench of marijuana was strong today, this person with long brown hair basically being a living joint. 

Yet Stan Edgar showed no reaction, no variation from the usual standing position this man usually sees him doing. “Afternoon Steve. It’s true, you have been hair a fair bit. Which means I assume you understand the process at this point, correct?”

“Yea yea, I got it. As long as you pay, I’m glad to make someone’s brains turn into splatter.” Steve ran a hand through his long hair. As he did so, Stan felt his phone vibrate, taking it out to see that it is an unknown number. 

Looking up, he addressed the other men in the room. “Get started. I’ll take this outside.” They had Steve sit down in the same chair as before, putting on the same metal helmet known as the Neural Connector. As they started up the device, Stan closed the door behind him as he stepped out into the hallway and put the phone to his ear. “Who am I speaking to?”

“I’m disappointed that you can’t tell who it is.” The voice mad Stan’s body stiffen. “You must have expected I would find a way to contact you from my private suite sooner or later.”

“What do you want?”

“I’m just calling to see how Homelander has been bracing the increase attention from the media, both good and bad. Also, how it the new recruit getting along with the others?”

“Let me make something clear. The only reason he is around is so that I can keep track of his every movement.”

“Really? Every single one?” The voice asked. “Impressive, considering I know how fast he can go. Must be a strain on the eyes after a while.”

“Listen to me.” Stan took a few steps down one end of the hallway. “If you think you can crawl your way out of that little room that I put you in, I will make sure you get your last visit from your new friend Homelander. No matter what you can promise him, I assure you that he knows where his best interest lies.”

A moment of silence after Stan had spoken. It seemed like the other guy had nothing else to say. But before he could hang up, he was asked a rather surprising question. “Have you ever seen a movie called Splice, assuming this world has it?”

“What?” Stan responded.

“A science fiction/horror movie, must be over a decade old at this point. These two scientists create a brand new creature from genetic splicing, raise it in secret. It seemed like they were guided by an ideal version of good, trying to discover potential cures for various human diseases and the like. But it became clear they had their own selfish reasons for keeping the creature alive, something it ended up picking up on. Anyway, it eventually turned on its creators and killed various people in the process.”

There was silence from Stan. Then suddenly, Stan ended the conversation, making sure his suit was proper and in place. As he did so, something loud could be heard coming from the room he had just left. It seemed like something was short circuiting, or some sort of electrical explosion. Reaching for the door, he paused and waited for it to start quieting down before risking entering the room. As he did so, the burned bodies of his employees were on the floor. The charred body of the psychic Steve, who was getting prepped to carry out another assignment was now sitting lifelessly in the chair. The picture of a black woman several states south, the woman who had witnessed the Supe then known as Liberty kill her brother and told about it to two strangers earlier that day, was on the ground. While he showed no visible signs of shock or surprise, beyond his eyes widening ever so slightly, he found himself unable to take his eyes off the carnage. Because of this, he didn’t see the last sparks of red and gold lightning crackle in the air before disappearing from sight.

******

Becca was on the main floor, washing dishes from dinner. She could hear Ryan moving around upstairs, getting ready to go to bed soon. They hadn’t really spoken about Homelander ever since he left them. He hasn’t made any return visits, but part of her is afraid of what might happen once he comes back. But she tries to push that out. Ryan hasn’t tried using any of the new abilities he had started to tap into, but she couldn’t that was because he was genuinely uninterested in doing so or if he was simply doing it for her sake. She felt the anger that came from him when he yelled at his father, and part of her was terrified to hear it. 

She almost dropped the dish she was holding when she heard a knock on the front door. Turning to face it, she felt that fear grow a little bit inside her. She moved normally to the front door, hoping that it wasn’t him again back to force her son into what he sees him as. Thankfully, it wasn’t him, but as soon as he spoke she could tell that he was still a bit of an ass.

“Evening luv. You don’t mind if I have one of these do you?” The blonde haired Englishman in the trench coat pushed his way inside. Becca pushed the door closed as she walked away, or rather she thought she closed it. This stranger pulled out a lighter and took in a long drag before exhaling in her living room. “Looks like the suits pulled all the stops out, didn’t they? I suppose you used your whole ‘I pushed the next indestructible superhero out of my vag’ card to get some of this. No judgement, it’s a smart move. Celebrate the little victories when you can.”

“I’m sorry, who the FUCK are you and why are you in my house?” Becca demanded. “Get out or they will come and kill you!”

“I wouldn’t worry about that.” He turned around, holding the cigarette in his fingers. “This is some top notch security, but a little occult magic here, a little illusion there, and they are watching your usual night routine on loop thinking it’s happening right now. Besides, if you kick me out you will have to kick out our mutual friend here, and something tells me you want to do some catch up with the old fellow.” Becca was confused and annoyed, and was turning around to see this so called ‘mutual friend’ he spoke about. But when she laid eyes on him, her current emotions vanished. 

Billy stood there, in as much shock as Becca was right now. He started to move towards her, was about to say something. But she was faster, grabbing his face and kissing her husband. No hesitation, he returned the embrace. The other Brit walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge to see if there was anything to drink. Swearing under his breath when he couldn’t find any alcohol, husband and wife managed to pull away and smiled at each other. 

“Billy…how did you-?”

“He did it. Don’t ask me to explain how because I don’t bloody know. Becca…how have survived being here?”

“It’s…a lot of it is something you have to get used to.” Becca said, remembering back. “After a while, you don’t notice you’re missing the news. But you still know things are happening out there, moving on just like they normally would. Your just not there to experience it.” She kissed him again, feeling his face as she pulled back again. “The beard is new.” The two had a little laugh at that.

“Yea, figured I would go for a new look.” Constantine moved into the opening connecting the living room and the kitchen. He remained silent, slowly breathing in the manufactured taste of his lit cig. Looking on, he let them have their reunion. 

“How…what have you been doing?” She asked him.

“Oh, I’m out living my best life. For a while I lived right above a fucking porn shop.” Billy forced a laughter from himself. While she softly smiled, she didn’t laugh along with him.

“I never wanted that for you. How long have you been going after him?” She didn’t have to say the name, but he knew who she was referencing. 

“Every day since they took you.”

“They didn’t…” She looked down at the ground, trying to find the right words to explain. She then looked up. “They offered me a choice. I couldn’t let them take my son and turn him to another Homelander. I chose to go with them, to make sure he was brought up right.”

“I understand that. I do.” Billy grabbed both of Becca’s hands. “You can still do that. But it sure as fucking Hell won’t be here.” Constantine started to move around them, heading upstairs to find the kid. But a word from Becca made both of them take pause.

“No!” She closed her eyes in regret as she let the word escape her mouth. Not regret for saying it, but regret for what she is about to do to the husband who has spent years trying to avenge her and then find her again. Opening back up, she met Billy in the eyes. “I can’t go with you Billy.”

“What?” he asked. “If this is about Homelander, I can protect you. It’s not just me, there are a lot of others.”

“Billy, I know how much you hate Homelander. I know how much you hate…all of them.” She didn’t want to say it, but she caught the hidden tone when he indirectly referenced the other Brit he walked in with. She knew that at best he must tolerate him. She couldn’t blame him; after all she has met him. But that’s not what concerns her. “They ultimately don’t care for me Billy. But they will want Ryan. Sooner or later, you will find a way to separate us if it means I stay with you.”

Billy looked away, sad and frustrated all at once. Constantine looked as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, hand on the railing and thinking things over. Then Butcher met her in the eyes, a more determined and angry look hidden in his eyes.

“He’s a piece of Vought property Becca. At least, that’s how they view him. And they will do everything they got. I can do what I can, but you can’t ask me to choose when it comes to that.”

“I know I can’t. But the answer is clear.” A couple of tears rolled down her face. Billy looked lost, angry, in grief all over again. He wanted to just grab her and run out of there, damn whoever tried to get in their way. But a man’s hand was placed on his chest, a light glowed around him. He screamed out loud, but Becca couldn’t hear as he was transported away. The blonde man remained with Becca, pulling his hand back.

“What did you do to him?” She asked.

“Just sent him back to base. Right in time for the evening appearance from Vought’s newest member.” Turning around, the shadows on his face seemed to grabbing him, trying to pull him back into the darkness. But here he remained, smoking and blowing air all over the place. “I don’t blame you. “I hate to do that to a fellow Englishman, but he does seem to be a tough guy to live with. But I have a job, to get you out of here. Doesn’t matter if it’s with him, just needs to be far away from here.”

“And where would that be then?” Becca crossed her arms. He smiled at her, taking in his last inhale. As he dropped it and grinded it into the carpet beneath his feet, he had her grab Ryan from upstairs. When she came back down, he still didn’t give her a response. But they teleported away to where things would be better explained, leaving the beautifully decorated prison empty.

******

The cameras were pointed right on set. Maria Menounos turned her head towards the couch, where her guest was sitting. Both of his arms were spread out, bringing one leg up to rest his ankle to rest on the other knee. Smiling for the camera, the man in yellow with a red lightning bolt, known to the public as The Flash, he gave a wave to the camera. Then the interview began.

“It must feel good being off of your feet for even a minute. After they introduced you, they just sent you right off into the field, without even a moment to process.”

“Well Maria, these super terrorists aren’t going to wait around for us to recover from such a public death. I personally have never meet A Train, rest his soul, but I’m sure he would want us to get right back out there.” He turned his head to Maria. She gave a kind smile as she met his eyes.

“Speaking of A Train, do you feel like the main reason you were brought on was to help get the focus off of such a public event and onto something else?”

“I won’t lie, I’m sure that must have been a factor.” Thawne nodded his head in admittance. “But I’m not going to let something like that distract me. Being out there, fighting the good fight, THAT is the reason I am going to stay.” In some secluded lab miles away from the filming studio, a bald man watched this interview, making sure the plan stayed on track. 

“I’m glad to hear that you care so much.” Maria nodded as she listened to him. “I feel like it’s a good thing right now for our viewers to explicitly hear just how much our heroes care for us. Especially following what happened a week ago.” Thawne tried to respond, but Maria continued to talk. “I mean; we haven’t seen or heard from Queen Maeve or Black Noir ever since then.”

“Well, Maeve took it very hard. Homelander and Vought that it might be best if she stayed out of the spotlight for a while, let her properly grief. I have only been a part of The Seven for a week, but I can tell that there is a strong family bond with everyone, they really care. As for Noir, I’m sure he has own process. But I also heard that he is currently undercover on assignment. Stormfront has been appearing in public though.”

“Yes, but she is very clearly taken a very different direction.” On the screen behind them, they showed a brief clip of Stormfront on stage, being the center of attention for a crowd of people. Thawne knows what this was, a protest against Vought for covering up A Train’s addiction and murder. He couldn’t help but grin to himself as he watched the clip, liking how this woman is keeping him alert and on his toes. Back at the tower, Stormfront and Homelander were watching this interview inside the meeting room. Homelander was sitting in a chair with her a few feet away standing, arms crossed and watching with interest. Trying to study him to see what he would have to say. As the speedster in yellow turned back around, he gave his response and thoughts on the clip.

“I admire her for what she is doing.” Thawne pointed his finger backwards at the paused clip. “She is the voice of those who are starting to see just how truly manipulative and nefarious Vought is when they aren’t on camera. And at least one of those heroes is joining them and calling them out.” She couldn’t help but smile a bit as she watched their newest member compliment her. Homelander’s face remained still and neutral.

“Those are some strong words.” Maria commented.

“Well Maria, Vought has made it clear that their primary focus is not with us. But they will do whatever they deem necessary to make sure we look good. Because that means they look good.”

“Do you have any idea what Homelander might have to say about all of this? About The Seven’s relationship with Vought and the various controversies surrounding the team, such as the #HeroesSoWhite controversy?” Homelander felt his body lean a little bit closer, more focused on Thawne’s reaction to this than anything else.

Shaking his head, Thawne chuckled softly. “Heroes so white…if you ask me, that’s a bunch of crap. The Seven are supposed to be the best of the best, regardless of skin color.” Thawne raised a finger to his lip and remained silent for a moment. Then he removed it. “I’ll think I’ll leave it at that. As for what Homelander is probably going through…he has the weight of the world on his head. Dealing with Vought, the super terrorists across the world, this is someone who is constantly working to make sure this world can be the best it can be. If that means things have to be a little messy, that people have to die, then so be it.”

Homelander said nothing, but for right now he felt content with Thawne’s response. Maria started to wrap up the interview, but he turned off the TV. Stormfront raised an eyebrow.  
“What? He didn’t give you enough praise? I mean, he is a bit of an asshole, but overall I think he did all right for his first interview.”

“No no, he was fine. I’m just thinking.” Homelander stood up and walked a bit. “Might have to implement some changes regarding the group structure…”

“What, your trying to kick me out now?” Stormfront joked. “If you are, I’m warning you that it will take more than lasers to do that.”

“Believe it or not, I want you with me.” This did surprise her. Homelander let out a deep sigh and turned to face her. “I’m going to take you up on your offer. A week ago, you basically said I should change how I approach my image and what I should be aiming for. After everything that has happened, I think it’s time to change.” Homelander looked at Stormfront. He gave a mysterious grin, Stormfront reading it as a sign that he knows something that he isn’t telling. But she figured now wasn’t the time to push. So she just nodded in genuine excitement, walking with Homelander as she started giving him the first tips and tricks to how to create a new image of himself.


End file.
